Last week as I perused through Twitter, an article in the Guardian caught my attention. It was on a young British-Somali woman in hijab playing soccer. The picture was captivating and I was eager to read the piece by Vivek Chaudhury. It was a story of a young woman who loves football, supports Chelsea FC […]

This article, co-authored by Laurent Dubois (@soccerpolitics) and MMW’s Shireen Ahmed, previously appeared in Sports Illustrated. A recent special issue of the French Surface Football Magazine includes this portrait of national team player Jessica Houara-d’Hommeaux. The photograph is an invitation, even an incitement. In contemporary France, the discussion about and policing of what Muslim women do and don’t wear is a […]

Nadia Manzoor is on a crusade to use humor and honesty to talk about the challenges she faced as a young Muslim immigrant coming of age in the US, through a web comedy series called “Shugs and Fats.”   The French government is under growing pressure to make a clear ruling on whether schoolgirls can […]

This post was written by Laila Alawa (@lulainlife). A few weeks ago, the online world blew up in response to the allegations – and later, leaked video – of an American football player, Ray Rice, beating his then-fiancée into unconsciousness. Within the online Muslim American community, the topic was hotly discussed and debated. Nuances were examined, resources […]

I recently penned a letter to a Canadian journalist whose article was sent to me by a friend. For the most part, it was a  fantastic piece commenting on the funding inequalities of women in sports – particularly soccer. As a player, coach and supporter of women’s soccer. I was pleased to read it. Until […]

*WARNING: POSSIBLE CAVITY-INDUCING PIECE* I have a tale to tell. It’s a story about a youngish Muslimah woman of colour who happens to be a football fanatic. Synopsis: She comes across #hijabdesk-worthy Kickstarter initiative and critiques the project of two, privileged, white women working in Africa. Sounds familiar, right? You may think you know what […]

The world of hijabs and soccer (or football, if you prefer) has been making the news a lot lately.  As you might remember, FIFA recently banned the Iranian women’s team from playing, because of their headscarves.  Jordan’s team has also recently been banned for the same reason.  And in the Montreal area, 15-year-old Sarah Benkirane […]

A couple of weeks of ago, the BBC featured a story on Kurdish women football teams. Two weeks later, the story is still on the front page of the Middle East section of the BBC News’s website. I kept flirting with the whether or not to cover the story, but since it covers two issues […]